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UMass Athletics

Daily Hampshire Gazette

AMHERST — Raphiael Putney launched shot after high-arching shot from different spots behind the 3-point line Friday, trying to work his way out of a shooting slump before Saturday’s 2 p.m. game against Miami at the Mullins Center.

The University of Massachusetts junior forward made 2-of-4 3s against Harvard as part of a 13-point effort on 4-for-6 shooting in the opener.

Since then his scoring has dropped to 10 points each against Providence and North Carolina State, six against Tennessee and none against Siena. Since Harvard, Putney is 2-for-10 from behind the arc, well down from last year’s .373 percentage from 3-point range.

“Last game I didn’t play to my potential. This game I’m trying to step it up and be the player I can be,” Putney said. “I have to be more aggressive this year for my team. I just have to get back to how I used to play last year.”

UMass coach Derek Kellogg thought focusing on the rest of his game would spur Putney’s scoring.

“I’m prodding him to focus on his defense, rebounding and shot-blocking and he’ll start making more 3s and getting more in the flow offensively. He’s had a little bit of a rough go here, but we’ve all seen what he’s capable of doing when he plays at a high level,” Kellogg said. “He’s just got to mentally get focused a little bit more and do some of the little things that will get him going offensively.”

Putney hoped the Minutemen’s first home game in 18 days might spark him.

“I feel more comfortable shooting at home that I do when we’re away. The atmosphere makes me play better,” he said.

“Stretch is pulling through. He’s had a couple of off games. I know he’s a great player and he’s going to come through in the next couple of games for us,” Williams said. “I’ll always go to him. I have confidence in him. I expect him to hit the next shot. I’m going to continue going to him no matter what.”

Added Kellogg, “We need him to beat teams like Miami.”

Miami (4-1) arrives in Amherst fresh off Wednesday’s 67-59 upset of No. 13 Michigan State. The Hurricanes’ lone loss came at Florida Gulf Coast in the second game of the season, but that loss came without senior guard Durand Scott, who missed the first three games of the season.

Scott’s scored 15 points in each of the last two games.

Sophomore Shane Larkin, the son of former Cincinnati Reds shortstop Barry Larkin, had a breakout game against UMass last year with 14 points. He leads Miami with 16.8 points and 4.0 assists per game.

The Hurricanes’ size could be a challenge for UMass as 6-foot-10, 292-pound center Reggie Johnson figures to be a handful. He’s averaging 11.3 points and 10.3 rebounds.

“He gives them a double-double guy,” Kellogg said. “When I look at their roster, there’s not a weak link that you can say we can play off of. This is probably the best team we’re going to play. It’s going to be a big time game. We’re going to have to bring an A game to be competitive. I think guys are ready to bring an A game and at least put their best foot forward.”

Matt Vautour can be reached at mvautour@gazettenet.com. Follow UMass coverage on Twitter at twitter.com/GazetteUMass. Get UMass coverage delivered in your Facebook news feed at www.facebook.com/GazetteUMassCoverage.

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UMass Athletics

Minutemen Suffer 75-62 Loss To Miami
Terrell Vinson and Chaz Williams each recorded their seventh career double double in the loss
From UMass Athletics, 12/1/2012

AMHERST, Mass. - Four Miami players scored in double figures to lead the Hurricanes past the UMass basketball team 75-62 on Saturday afternoon in the Mullins Center. The Minutemen were led by Terrell Vinson's 14 points and 11 rebounds along with Chas Williams' 11 points and 10 assists. UMass struggled from the floor hitting just 18-of-63 shots, while Miami hit 25-of-52 shots.

The Minutemen fall to 3-3 overall on the season while the Hurricanes improve to 5-1 overall.

UMass led the bulk of the first half until the final moment saw the Minutemen struggle from the floor. Miami closed the opening stanza with a 9-0 run over the final three minutes to take a 30-25 lead into halftime.

After Freddie Riley's three-pointer with 3:29 until intermission gave the Minutemen a 25-21 lead, UMass was unable to hit another field goal going 0-for-6 from the field.

Coming out of the break, the Minutemen seemed to find their offense with back-to-back lay-ups from Vinson and Cady Lalanne cut the Miami lead to one just under 90 seconds into the second half.

A Vinson free throw nearly two minutes later tied the game at 35, but the Canes managed to keep hold of a two possession lead for the next 10 minutes.

With UMass trailing 48-44, Raphiael Putney hit back-to-back three pointers around a Trey McKinney Jones to ignitethe Mullins Center crowd of 7,004. After a Miami timeout, Jesse Morgan hit a lay-up to pull UMass back within one, 51-50, with 8:29 to go.

That was as close as the Minutemen could get for the balance of the game as Miami used a 13-to-4 run over the next 3:28 to build a 64-55 lead.

A Vinson three-pointer with 2:52 left in the game gave the Minutemen a glimmer of hope, but a fastbreak dunk followed by a three-pointer from Kadji gave the Hurricanes a 10-point lead, 72-62.

The Minutemen will return to action on Tuesday, Dec. 4 at Northeastern in historic Matthews Arena with the opening tip set for 7 PM.

NOTES

Miami improved to 4-0 all-time against UMass with today's victory. UMass is now 37-46 against current members of the ACC and 1-7 under coach Kellogg.

UMass shot a season-low 28.6 pct. (18-63) from the floor Saturday.

UMass attempted 32 3-pointers today, one shy of its season-high 33 from the Siena victory on Wednesday. They made seven 3-pointers in both games.

UMass continued its strong play on the offensive glass, pulling down a season-high 15 rebounds. The Minutemen have tallied at least 12 in all six games this season. UMass had 12 second chance points.

UMass recorded season highs in both free throws made (19) and attempted (26). It also attempted more FTs that its opponent for the first time this season.

UMass recorded one Miami turnover as a result of its full court pressure, bringing its season total to 17 through six games.

Terrell Vinson finished with 14 points and 11 rebounds for his seventh-career double-double and first this season. His rebounds were a season-high, with nine coming in the first half. His previous 2012-13 high was seven against NC State.

Chaz Williams had 11 points and 10 assists for his seventh-career double-double and second this year (Harvard). He now has nine career double-figure assist games.

Prior to UMass bringing in substitutes with 27 seconds left, all eight players who had played for the Minutemen had scored.

Daily Hampshire Gazette

AMHERST — After getting away with a rough shooting night Wednesday, the University of Massachusetts men’s basketball team could not survive another on Saturday.

The Minutemen went cold down the stretch and Miami pulled away to a 75-62 victory at the Mullins Center.

Raphiael Putney broke out of his shooting stroke, making all three his 3-point tries, but three first-half fouls limited him to 21 minutes.

Trailing 48-44, UMass made several plays just to keep possession alive before Putney hit a 3-pointer to cut the deficit to one with 10 minutes, eight seconds left in the game.

Trey McKinney Jones answered for the Hurricanes with a 3, but Putney hit another one to again bring the Minutemen within one at 51-50.

Jesse Morgan, who struggled all game from the field, followed with a driving layup with 8:29 left that gave UMass a 52-51 lead, their first advantage since the first half.

The crowd of 7,004 roared but not for very long. Rion Brown hit a tough-angle 3-pointer that started a 13-3 surge for Miami and a 64-55 lead with 5:01 left.

The Minutemen (3-3) could not get enough stops down the stretch as the Hurricanes (5-1) held on.

“I thought once again in the second half, we had an opportunity in front of us,” UMass coach Derek Kellogg said. “We went up one. And then at that point, we kind of got away from what had made us successful to get us there.

“I thought the guys played hard, but we’ve got to play a little bit better basketball, especially when you’re playing the high-level competition,” he added. “When you’re playing the Miamis and Tennessees and NC State and even Providences of the world, you’ve got to toughen up at certain junctures of the game and make the right plays.”

The Minutemen are at Northeastern at 7 p.m. Tuesday.

UMass shot 28.6 percent from the field (18-for-63) and 21.9 from 3-point range (7-for-32). The Minutemen had similar struggles Wednesday early against Siena, but increased the tempo and took risks defensively to battle back. On Saturday, Miami turned many of those defensive risks into easy baskets.

“I think we need to shoot the ball a tad bit better. Especially in the first half, I felt like we had so many wide-open shots that didn’t go down,” Kellogg said. “Even in the second half, we had some good looks from 3.

“So I’ve got to make the determination if we’re shooting too many 3s or if we’re not shooting enough in practice or if the guys aren’t working on their shooting on their own,” he added. “But when you have the green light and your coach has confidence in you shooting the ball, I think the guy’s got to put the ball in the basket.”

UMass scored the first five points of the game and led for most of the first half, but beginning with a 3-pointer by Shane Larkin, the Hurricanes scored the last nine points of the half to take a 30-25 lead at intermission.

Terrell Vinson led the Minutemen with 14 points and 11 rebounds, while Chaz Williams added 11 points and 10 assists.

“To beat a top-level team, whether it’s home, on the road, neutral site, every play is important,” Kellogg said. “I thought we didn’t make the play that you need to make to be competitive with a team that’ll probably be in the Top 25 next week with the win today.”

UMass had trouble matching up with 6-foot-10, 292-pound senior center Reggie Johnson, who had 19 points, 13 rebounds and six blocked shots to lead Miami. He shot 6-for-13 from the floor and made seven of eight free throw attempts.

“He was a big factor,” Vinson said. “He was just a big presence out there. I was surprised he was able to play 33 minutes with us, but he held his own. He played big and got big baskets for them at the end.”

“Against some teams, it’s very hard to pack in in there because they just pack in in around him,” Larranaga said. “UMass’ style is to stretch it out and pressure you which gave him a little more room. Being big, you’re going to get fouled. Even in the NBA, a lot of big guys can’t make free throws. It’s nice to have one who can.”

Matt Vautour can be reached at mvautour@gazettenet.com. Follow UMass coverage on Twitter at twitter.com/GazetteUMass. Get UMass coverage delivered in your Facebook news feed at www.facebook.com/GazetteUMassCoverage.

AMHERST — University of Massachusetts coach Derek Kellogg was among many in the college basketball world affected by the death of former Saint Louis coach Rick Majerus on Saturday.

“It’s sad to see somebody of his age pass away,” Kellogg said in a statement. “He had so much to offer the game of basketball. It’s sad when you lose somebody in the coaching fraternity, especially when you see what he did for the game.

“From coaching against him and watching from afar you saw that he gave his heart and soul to the student-athlete and was something special,” Kellogg continued. “We are all going to miss him.”

Majerus, who led the Billikens to the NCAA Tournament in 2011, has battled heart problems in recent years. In August he took a leave for health reasons, and in November Majerus announced he would not return to coaching.

He went 95-69 at Saint Louis and 517-216 during his career that included stops at Utah, Marquette and Ball State.

MORGAN STRUGGLING ON MAINLAND – Jesse Morgan continues to struggle shooting since the Minutemen returned from Puerto Rico.

He went 3-for-15 from the floor Saturday in a 75-62 loss to Miami, including 1-for-10 from 3-point range as he tried to shoot his way out of the slump. Morgan is 2-for-17 from behind the arc in the last two games.

In three games on the mainland this season Morgan is averaging 12.6 points per game and shooting 16 percent from 3-point range (4-for-25).

HEAVY-HEARTED — Hurricane senior big man Kenny Kadji played Saturday, just a day after his grandfather Gibbard Kadji died, and scored 13 points.

“It was very special. I really wanted to honor him. It’s a tough time for my mother,” Kadji said. “I wanted to play for him and my parents. I really think he was out there with me. He was on my mind the whole time.

Miami coach Jim Larranaga said he was surprised to have Kadji available.

“I didn’t think he’d even be able to play today. Down the stretch he stepped up big time,” Larranaga said.

NEXT UP — UMass (3-3) is back in action Tuesday at Northeastern. The Huskies are 4-3, but have lost their last two games to Charlotte and Maine.

MISCELLANEOUS — The Minutemen’s 28.6 shooting percentage was their worst since shooting 25 percent in a 76-43 loss at Dayton on Feb. 25 when UMass was 13-for-52 from the field.

It was the first time all year that the Minutemen attempted more free throws (26) that their opponent (25).

Matt Vautour can be reached at mvautour@gazettenet.com. Follow UMass coverage on Twitter at twitter.com/GazetteUMass. Get UMass coverage delivered in your Facebook news feed at www.facebook.com/GazetteUMassCoverage.